By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
It was a trip down memory lane for one former U.S. Air Force serviceman who made a visit to the Moapa Valley community last month. Al Herrmann, of Dallas Texas, spent a day in Overton reminiscing about a time in February of 1976 when he spent six weeks here engaged in a large, regional ‘war game’ exercise during the height of the Cold War. The PROGRESS met up with him at Sugar’s Restaurant one afternoon during his stay in Overton.
Herrmann served for four years as a truck mechanic at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico. During that time, his unit, the 609th Tactical Control Squadron was dispatched to Overton to participate in Operation Bold Eagle ‘76, a joint exercise with the US Army.
“We were set up as a communication center to direct airstrikes in the operation,” Herrmann said. “We set up a whole moveable air traffic control center up on the Mormon Mesa where we were relaying communications to various points by radio.”
For the communication center, the Squadron set up a portable 1948 shelter on the mesa. The shelter had a metal frame covered with a rubber canvas material and was called the “rubber duck.” In addition a TPS-43 radar dish antenna was installed and pointed to directly communicate with another temporary installation that was built at Angel’s Peak near Mt. Charleston. The installation was powered by a large turbine generator which burned jet fuel, Herrmann said.
The Squadron’s living quarters comprised of ten-man tents which were set up in the Overton Park. During the exercises this tent village accommodated more than 200 people, Herrmann said.
Since it was in the middle of winter, the Squadron came prepared for cold weather. But they were pleasantly surprised by the moderate winter, Herrmann said.
“We came with all of our winter gear,” he said. “But we ended up being able to just wear our t-shirts all day.”
But the mild weather which prevailed early on in the operation proved deceptive. The day after the setup was completed a severe windstorm struck southern Nevada. At times, blowing dust was so thick that visibility was cut to nearly zero.
Herrmann said that there were obvious concerns that the wind would knock over the 20 foot tall antenna and blow it over the edge of the Mesa.
“We had to park a big wrecker truck up there next to the antenna and anchored the antenna with chains to the truck to keep it in place,” Herrmann said.
The crews in Overton experienced only minor equipment damage in the storm. But the people detached at Angel’s Peak fared much worse. Winds in excess of 110 mph whipped the peak and caused some major damage to the equipment there, Herrmann said.
In addition to the windstorm, the Overton detachment also experienced winter rains and its accompanying flooding. Herrmann said that the Overton Park turned into a mudbog for a while.
“We got one of our big 6×6 trucks stuck in the mud down there,” Herrmann said. “It made an awful mess getting it out, with huge ruts in the park down there. It was stuck so bad that we had to get the wrecker to pull it out with a winch.”
Herrmann remembered that the Overton community was quite hospitable during the exercises. He fondly recalled the small business district in Overton and noted the many changes that have happened since the mid 1970s.
“We were pretty busy and we had everything that we needed in our camp, so we didn’t have much need to go to the local businesses,” Herrmann said. “But I do remember going to the Sportsman’s a few times.”
After his military service, Herrmann returned back to his home in Texas. He worked for a time in the oil and gas industry. And then he took a job with the U.S. Postal Service in Terrell, Texas as an electronics technician. He retired from the Postal Service after 28 years.
